Thomas Banyacya (1909-1999) traveled the world for almost 50 years speaking about the prophecies of his tribe, the Hopi. For centuries the Hopi have lived in one of the harshest environments of the US - perched on a desert mesa in Arizona. Their ancestors chose such a place to settle because they knew it would keep their people close to the creator. They continually reaffirm their reliance on God by an annual series of rituals asking the spirits to supply their every need.

In 1948 a group of Hopi elders accepted the task of warning the world of the events that the Hopi prophecies foretold. The prophecies themselves instructed them to approach the UN. It took 44 years of effort, but in 1992 they were finally permitted to address the General Assembly. This beginning led to another gathering at the UN in 1993, called the "Cry of the Earth Conference", when leaders from seven nations released their prophecies.

Hopi prophecies speak of the return of Bahana, their True White Brother, who left them in ancient times, promising to return. They wear their hair in bangs to form a window, they say, by which to see their Elder Brother when He returns. It is also an identifying mark for the Elder Brother to recognize them.

Black Elk and Crazy Horse were leaders of the Lakota Sioux in the late 1800s, a period which saw in the US the decimation of many native groups. Each had a vision of the future.

Black Elk saw that his people would be plagued by famine and sickness and war. They would lose heart and the sacred hoop of his nation would be broken. But he saw a vision of his own nation being reunited after seven generations and becoming part of the greater hoop of all the nations of the earth. Then he saw the daybreak star rising in the east, and heard a voice that said: "It shall be a relative to them, and who shall see it shall see much more, for from there comes Wisdom; and those who do not see it shall be dark." Black Elk thought this meant that a great Prophet from the East would bring a message to his people.

Crazy Horse's vision foretold the darkness that descended on his people. He saw the coming of automobiles and airplanes and the tragic world wars of the modern era. He saw his people gradually awakening after the last war and beginning to dance again under the Sacred Tree. Then amazingly he saw that dancing along with his people were representatives of all races who had become brothers. Thus he foresaw that the world would be made whole again, not just by his own nation but by all peoples working together.

Among the Lakota, the Crow, the Chippewa and other Native American tribes, the White Buffalo is one of the most sacred symbols. It represents purity, sacrifice and a sign that prophecy is being fulfilled. The Messiah honored by the Lakota Sioux is the White Buffalo Calf Woman who brought the Sacred Pipe and established the foundation of their ritual and social life. When she left, she turned into a white buffalo, and promised some day to return. In 1994 a white buffalo calf was born in Wisconsin; in 1996 another was born in South Dakota. For the native peoples these births have been a sign to "mend the hoop" of the nations, to establish brotherhood within the family of man, and return to a spiritual way of life.

Jake Swamp of the Mohawk nation tells of the Peacemaker, Deganawida, who unified the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Peacemaker foresaw the turmoil and destruction that would destroy the lives and culture of the Confederacy tribes. But he also saw a time beyond when there would come a great Prophet who would be a World Uniter. He would come in the same spirit as other prophets before Him, but would renew the spirit of man in a way more worldwide and all-embracing than ever before in history.

In 1969 the elders of Dhyani Ywahoo's Tsalagi/Cherokee group decided to release teachings that have been kept in secret since the conquest. Through books, lectures and workshops, Dhyani Ywahoo is disseminating that knowledge. She claims that her own Ywahoo lineage was founded by a legendary prophet called the Pale One who rekindled the sacred fires throughout the Americas. She says: "The Pale One is a cyclically incarnating being. He comes when the people have forgotten their sacred ways, bringing reminders of the Law, recalling all to right relationship. He is expected soon again, and he may be alive even now. It is good."

Among the Australian aboriginals it is believed that each tribe has a responsibility to take care of one part of the environment. They believe that underground minerals are a vital part of the earth's energy grid and are greatly concerned about the excessive mining in modern times, particularly of uranium. In 1975 the elders met in Canberra, drawing together over 350 Aboriginal people. They gave a warning of cataclysms to come and told the people to go out and teach their knowledge to the world, to prepare it for a future time when we would go back to our beginnings - when all cultures will exist as one.

The Waitaha nation claims the most ancient lineage in New Zealand. When the nation was broken up by warriors from the Pacific the elders concealed 1,000 years of their generational history and wisdom teachings, passing the knowledge on through only a tiny number of people in each generation. In 1990 the elders saw in the heavens a configuration that was a sign for them to release their sacred knowledge. A book, The Song of Waitaha by Barry Brailsford, contains these teachings. In their language wai means water and taha means gourd, implying the idea of a water carrier, the sign of Aquarius.

The Kogi are a pre-Columbian tribe who live an isolated existence in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. They are one of the few who escaped the destruction of the Europeans and still live their lives in accordance with their ancient spiritual heritage. Alarmed by the excessive mining and deforestation of modern times, in 1990 (for the one and only time) they allowed a BBC television film crew to visit them and document their lives. Calling themselves "The Elder Brothers", they wished to issue an urgent warning to the "younger brothers". High in their mountain lands, they see that the earth is drying up, the sources of water that should give sustenance to the plains below are no longer vital. They warn us that the earth is dying and, "When the Earth dies we will all die."

Willaru Huarta grew up in the jungles of Peru, studying with the shamans. He says that his native Quechua Incan prophecies predicted the white man's coming would bring 500 years of materialism and imbalance. But now they say that era is coming to an end and the Age of Aquarius will "signal the return of Light to the planet and the dawn of a golden era. We live in a time of the fulfillment of prophecy." Now he tours the world teaching his simple message: "Humanity should cure itself and give help to the poor. Regenerate yourself with light, and then help those who have poverty of the soul. Return to the inner spirit, which we have abandoned while looking elsewhere for happiness." The Q'ero are another Peruvian group that are releasing prophecy, traveling to the industrialized nations to hold ceremonies and share their vision of the future.

Hunbatz Men tells of an ancient confederation of Native American elders made up of representatives from Nicaragua to the Arctic Circle. They have been meeting for thousands of years and continue to do so today. Before the Spaniards came the confederation decided to hide the Mayan teachings, entrusting certain families with their care. Hunbatz Men is an inheritor of that lineage. In his book Secrets of Mayan Science/ Religion, he reveals teachings that mirror the Hindu and Buddhist ones of astrology, meditation, and the septenary root of creation.

He speaks of Kukulcan and Quetzalcoatl, not so much in light of an expected return, but rather in terms of the possibility that each of us can attain the same exalted stage by treading the path of attaining knowledge. "To be Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan is to know the seven forces that govern our body - not only know them but also use them and understand their intimate relationship with natural and cosmic laws. We must comprehend the long and short cycles and the solar laws that sustain our lives. We must know how to die, and how to be born."

Don Alejandro Oxlaj is a seventh generation priest from Guatemala and head of the Quiche Maya Elder Council. He has traveled throughout North America, comparing the native prophecies of different tribes. In the coming year he hopes to record and publish, for the first time in 500 years, the Mayan prophecies of his people.

What is enlightening in all of these statements is their consistent tone of reconciliation. The native groups are opening their doors to people of every color, speaking of themselves as Rainbow Warriors. Their elders have reminded them to "remember the original instructions" when each tribe was given by the creator a mandate to follow. That mandate has told them that now is the time to heal the past, despite the centuries of pain and persecution. Now is the time to join together and work in harmony to rehabilitate the planet and establish an era of alignment and peace.

by Bette Stockbauer

Reposted from the Share International magazine home page

ANCIENT PROPHECIESfor Modern Times

“Native groups are opening their doors to people of every color, speaking of themselves as Rainbow Warriors. Their elders have reminded them to "remember the original instructions" when each tribe was given by the creator a mandate to follow. That mandate has told them that now is the time to heal the past, despite the centuries of pain and persecution. Now is the time to join together and work in harmony to rehabilitate the planet and establish an era of alignment and peace.”

- Bette Stockbauer writer, activist and conservationist, who has been working for issues related to peace for over 40 years